Device for supporting chinaware or the like during the process of manufacture



T. ALLSOP ANDW. W. SIBSONV INAWARE OR THE LIKE DURING THE PROCES APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4, 1919.

DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING CH 8 OF MANUFACTURE.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922. P 5 l l'ill 5 INVENTOR.S.-. v WITNESSES; I mamas/715010 i M, walferldsmson,

- ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS ALLSOP AND WALTER W. SIIBSON, OF PHILADELPHIA. PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE PHILADELPHIA-DRYING MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PHILA- DELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA,'A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING CHINAWAR-E OR THE LIKE DURING THE PROCESS OF MANU- FACTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

Application filed September 4, 1919. 'Serial No. 321,567.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that we, THOMAS Armsor and Curran W. SIBSON, citizens'ofthe United States. residing in the city and county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Supporting Chinaware or the like During the Processes of Manufacture, whereof the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to devices for supporting articles of china, porcelain, crockery, etc, during certain stages of their manufactui'e, more especially during drying after the application of the glazing solution, at which time it is necessary, by reason of the varied configuration of such manufactures, that they be supported in positions of best advantage to effect the draining of the excess coating. For example, large plates or other articles of a similar comparatively shallow nature drain more readily when in vertical positions, while on the other hand, the draining of saucers, cups, bowls, etc., is expedited when laid flat in inverted positions. 7

Supports of the type herein referred to, may be employed either as trays hung from an endless conveyor of a drying machine or mangle, or as the shelves of trucks used in connection with drying machines ordinarily known as the tunnel dryers. Carrying the example somewhat further, it may be stated that the variously different articles which ordinarily constitute a set of china; or porcelain are invariably made in batches, so that a machine equipped with devices adapted for supporting one special group of articles of such sets is either useless or ineflicient in the treatment of another.

In order to overcome this difficulty, we have devised a supporting device which is of a combination type, or which may be better described as being convertible to sustain the supported articles-either in vertical or horizontal positions, as may be found to be most expedient in effecting the desired results. v Y

Our invention may be used either as a shelf for trucks suchas above referred to, or as readily for trays of a conveyer.

The characteristic features of our inven tion are capable of embodiment in a number of different forms, which will be more readily'understood from the description which follows.

In the drawings, Fig. I, is a plan view of a shelf or tray conveniently embodying our invention in one form.

Fig. II, is an end view of the structure shown in Fig. I, and

Figs. III, IV and V, are views similar to Fig. 11, of modified forms of our invention, which will be subsequently taken up separately, and in detail, in the proper order. as the description proceeds.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and II, the de vice there shown comprises a rectangular base plate or board to which a series of longitudinal ribs are attached. Of these the ones indicated by the numerals 22, are fixed elements, whilst those designated at 3, 3, are pivotally attached to the board by hinges 4. These hinges are preferably so disposed that the ribs 3, 3, may be turned in wardly or in a direction toward each other. The said ribs are provided with pins 5, 5, which, when they occupy the positions shown in full lines in the illustrations, are present ed to serve as engagement means for sustaining large shallow plates, or similar ortic'les in vertical positimis as illustrated at The respective pins of the ribs 3, 3, are preferably arranged in staggered relation, so as to be non-interfering when the ribs are turned inwardly about their pivotal hinges as suggested in dotted lines in Fig. 11. The fixed ribs 2, 2, are more especially adapted for the support of saucers, cups, 'etc., which for a reason already pointed out, are preferably disposed horizontally and inverted as shown at S.

It will be noted by referring once more to Fig. 11, that the pivoted ribs 3, 3, when in the position indicated in doted lines, may be employed in the same manner as the fixed ribs, since they now present surfaces similarly free from the pin engagement means 5, 5. By this construction, the shelf or tray may be adapted to sustain the articles all horizontally or it ma be arranged as a combination support. f desired, the shelf or tray may be provided with pivoted ribs throughout.

In order to hold the pivoted ribs against claim accidental displacement in either position, We have provided locking means in the form of springs 65, which co-operate with looking pins '7, projecting from the ends of the ribs. These springs are preferably designed to serve as a common locking means for adjacent ribs, and are accordingly formed as best shown in Fig. II. The ends of the springs are curved in concentricity with the pivotal axes of the hinges, and formed vith notches 8, 8, in which the locking pins are yielding-1y detained when the ribs are shifted to either of their rest positions. It will be readily seen that the concentric curvature of the spring ends serves to facilitate the turning of the ribs as the locking pins pass between the notches.

In the modification of F ig. III, the pin ribs 10, 10, are detachably secured by dowel pins 11. 11, so as to be readily removable to permit substitution of plain ribs, when it is desired to convert the tray or shelf for purposes already understood.

For a like reason, the pin ribs 15, 15, of the form shown in Fig. V. are dove-tailed into the base plate or board.

The form shown in Fig. IV, differs from the preceding in that the base plate or board 20, 20, has a central longitudinal opening 21, 21, adapted to receive an insert strip 22, 22, to which are secured upon one side pin ribs 23, 23, and on the other plain ribs 24:, 24-. Thus when it is desired to convert the tray into either one form or another, it is necessary simply to invert the insert strip 22 to present the appropriate ones of its series or set of ribs or, in other words, to present either pin engagement means or plain surfaces, just as in the forms illustrated in Figs. I, III and i.

It is obvious that various other moditications may be made in structural details and arrangements without departing from the spirit of our invention, and we therefore, do not wish to be strictly limited to the precise structures herein shown.

Having thus described our invention, we

1. A shelf or tray of the character described comprising a base plate or board, and a series of ribs carried thereby and capable of conversion to present concurrently thereabove either engagement means for sustaining articles in vertical positions, or suriaces free from such engagement means for sustaining the articles in horizon tal positions. 7

2. A shelf or tray of the character described comprising, a base plate or board, and a plurality of ribs carried thereby and each 'shiftable into diverse positions thereon, sothalt'said ribs shall concurrently present above said board either engagement means for sustaining articles in vertical positions, or sides free from such engagement means for sustaining the articles in horizontal positions.

3. In a shelf or tray of the character described. the combination of a base plate or board; and a series of ribs movably secured to said plate, said ribs having engagement means which render them ca )able of sustaining' the articles supported by the tray vertically when in one position, and are out of the way so as to permit the ribs to sustain the articles horizontally when the ribs are in another position.

4. In a shelf or tray of the character described. the combination of a base plate or board; and a series of ribs hinged to the plate or board, said ribs being capable of sustaining the articles supported by the tray vertically when in one position, and horizontally when in another.

In a. shelf or tray of the haracter desc ibed, the combination of a base plate or board; a series of ribs pivotally attached to said plate and adapted to support the articles carried upon the tray; spacing pins projecting from said ribs. capable of nornally sustaining said articles vertically when the ribs are turned to one position, but which are moved to inactivity when the ribs are shifted to another position to support said articles horizontally 6. In a shelf Or tray of the character described. the combination of a base plate'or board a series of ribs hinged to the plate or board. said ribs beiir capable of sustain.- ins; the articles supported by the tray verti- -all v wh ii in one position, and horizontally when in another,- and means for locking said ribs in either f their changed positions.

7. In a shelf or tray of the character described, the combination of a base plate or board; a series of ribs hinged to the plate or-board, said ribs being capable of sustaining; the articles supported by the tray vertically when in one position, and horizontally when in another; pins projecting from said ribs and fixed leaf locking notches adapted to co-operate with said pins in holding said ribs in either of their changed positions. V

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto signed our names at Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, this 2nd day of September, 1919.

' THOli li-XS ALLSOP.

WALTER W. SIBSON. lVitnesses:

James H. BELL, E. L. FULLERTON.

springs having 

